2021-22Regular SeasonRound 5
October 22, 2021 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 BUESA ARENA

Baskonia beats Monaco 78-76 to extend win steak

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz used a big third-quarter run to defeat visiting AS Monaco 78-66 on Friday night at Buesa Arena. Its third straight win took Baskonia's record to 3-2, while Monaco lost its third consecutively and dropped to 2-3. The two teams traded blown until early in the third quarter when Baskonia put together a 20-2 burst, turning a close game into a comfortable advantage that the hosts never relinquished. Simone Fontecchio paced the winners with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Landry Nnoko collected 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Jayson Granger had 12 points and 6 assists. Steven Enoch scored 12, and Rokas Giedraitis 10 points, while Tadas Sedekerskis pulled down 11 rebounds. Mike James finished with 18 points for Monaco and Danilo Andjusic netted 15 points. Jerry Boutsiele combined 11 points with 10 rebounds while Donatas Motiejunas scored 10 in defeat.

Yakuba Ouattara opened the visitors' tally with a three-point play and Motiejunas scored twice from close range. Fontecchio and Granger each scored twice for the hosts before a pair of layups and a put-back dunk from Nnoko made it 14-11. James had a layup-plus-free throw combo but Fontecchio answered with a three-pointer before Enoch and Boutsiele traded baskets inside, making it 21-20 after 10 minutes. A pair of baskets from Wade Baldwin IV, including a huge put-back dunk, and a three-pointer from Fontecchio opened a 28-21 Baskonia lead early in the second. Andjusic hit a corner three at the other end, but both teams were far more efficient inside. Motiejunas scored twice for Monaco while Enoch strung together 6 points for the hosts, including back-to-back jumpers to make it 34-28. A transition triple by James got Monaco within 34-33, but the hosts took a 38-35 advantage into halftime.

Andjusic's triple tied it up, 40-40, early in the third quarter, but that's when Baskonia replied with a 13-0 run. Granger opened it with a three-pointer and Giedraitis capped with a long-range dagger, giving Baskonia its first double-digit lead of the night. Andjusic's jumper snapped the run, but fastbreak layups from Arturs Kurucs and Baldwin extended the difference to 60-42. After layups by Ouattara and Boutsiele, the hosts took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter, which Boutsiele opened with a three-point play before James and Andjusic combined for 9 points to get Monaco as close as 66-60. However, Nnoko answered with a three-point play and Giedraitis drove for a reverse dunk, restoring a double-digit lead as Baskonia cruised in the final minutes.

Key stat: Baskonia's best two-point night this season

To find reasons for Baskonia's win over Monaco, there is no need to look further than the two-point shooting percentages of the two teams. Baskonia scored 27-of-42 shots, good for 65.8%. Both are the club's highest marks so far this season, and those 27 two-pointers made tying the club's second-best total in more than two years.

Monaco shot 23-for-45 inside the arc, good for 51.1%, but that number was just 17-for-36 (47.2%) through three quarters. At that point, Baskonia was already holding a comfortable double-digit lead and Monaco used the fourth quarter to improve its numbers. Monaco's struggles were even worse from behind the arc, where the team was just 3-for-26 (11.5%). Baskonia was not much better in that department, making 4-for-20 (20.0%), but it made the needed difference closer to the basket.

Pivotal performers: Fontecchio, Sedeskersis set the tone for Baskonia

Baskonia forward Simone Fontecchio shined on Friday night. He not only led all scorers with 20 points, but he missed only one shot all night. He scored 6 of his 7 two-pointers while downing both three-point and free throw attempts he took. He was a big factor on the glass with 7 rebounds and also dished 4 assists. His fellow forward, Tadas Sedekerskis, scored only 2 points, but pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, shattering his previous best of 7. The two men combined for 18 defensive rebounds, while the entire visiting Monaco squad had 19 for the game.

Baskonia and Monaco reverse rebounding trends

Going into the game, Baskonia and Monaco had collected more rebounds than any other Euroleague teams this season. Baskonia topped the charts in offensive rebounds, averaging 13.8, Monaco was the best defensive rebounding side with 28.5 per game. In this game, however, they reversed their rebounding specialties. Monaco finished with 18 offensive boards, one fewer than this season's high among all EuroLeague teams. However, those were not enough to win, partly because Baskonia pulled down enough of the visitors' missed shots. Baskonia finished with 30 defensive rebounds, its best such number this season.

Jayson Granger - Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz - EB21
Friday, October 22, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; JOVCIC, MILIVOJE; VYKLICKY, ROBERT
Attendance: 7423
By Quarter1234
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz21172218
AS Monaco20151120
End of Quarter1234
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz21386078
AS Monaco20354666
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 BALDWIN IV, WADE 16:56 6 3/5 0/4   1 1 2 1   2 1 1 5 2 -2
7 BARRERA, ALEJANDRO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 25:31 2 1/3 0/2   2 9 11 2 1       3 1 10
9 MARINKOVIC, VANJA 4:22           1 1               1
11 GRANGER, JAYSON 24:30 12 3/3 1/3 3/4   2 2 6   2     1 5 19
20 FONTECCHIO, SIMONE 32:18 20 6/7 2/2 2/2 1 6 7 4         2 2 30
23 ENOCH, STEVEN 16:54 12 6/10 0/1   1 2 3     1   1 3 1 6
24 COSTELLO, MATTHEW 14:26   0/1 0/3     1 1       1   2 1 -3
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 33:01 10 1/3 1/4 5/5 1 4 5 2   3     2 4 11
35 NNOKO, LANDRY 22:50 14 6/8   2/3 4 3 7 1   2 1 1 2 2 17
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 9:12 2 1/1 0/1         2 1       1   3
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 78 27/41 4/20 12/14 10 30 40 18 2 11 3 3 21 18 92
        65.9% 20% 85.7%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
AS Monaco
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 LEE, PARIS 7:34 2 1/2     1   1     1     4   -3
9 WESTERMANN, LEO 30:03   0/2 0/4   1 1 2 6   3     3 1 -3
10 THOMAS, WILL 16:58 2 1/2 0/2   1   1 2 1         2 5
11 DIALLO, ALPHA 12:54 3 1/2 0/1 1/2 1 2 3           4 1  
16 BOUTSIELE, JERRY 21:29 11 5/7   1/3 6 4 10 1   1     2 3 18
20 MOTIEJUNAS, DONATAS 20:18 10 5/7 0/2 0/2   2 2         1   3 8
24 OUATTARA, YAKUBA 13:17 5 2/3 0/1 1/1 1   1   1         1 6
28 FAYE, IBRAHIMA 13:34   0/1 0/2 0/2 2   2 1 1   2   3 3 1
32 GRAY, ROB 1:28   0/1                   1     -2
33 ANDJUSIC, DANILO 25:13 15 3/7 2/5 3/3   3 3       1   1 2 13
45 HALL, DONTA 7:41                         1   -1
55 JAMES, MIKE 29:31 18 5/11 1/9 5/6 1 4 5 1 2 1   1 1 5 13
Team           4 3 7     1         6
Totals 200:00 66 23/45 3/26 11/19 18 19 37 11 5 7 3 3 19 21 61
        51.1% 11.5% 57.9%
Head coach: MITROVIC, ZVEZDAN

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"I think we played good defense. We had aggressiveness on defense that we did not have in other games. And generally, we had patience on offense, looking for the better option. Three minutes we did not play like that, and Monaco came back. But I think we finally played like we must play. Maybe this is our best performance in the EuroLeague this season. I think we played seriously, very seriously."
MITROVIC, ZVEZDAN
AS Monaco
“Congratulations. I think it was absolutely a well-deserved win for Baskonia tonight. They showed good energy, especially in the third quarter when all five players played very aggressive defense. We could not find a good answer on offense, plus I think we shot terrible on three-pointers. This is some of the basic reasons why we lost the game. We had a comeback, we did not surrender, but we missed some free throws; we were also terrible shooting free throws. But against a defense like Baskonia played, you have to make some open shots.”

Players

FONTECCHIO, SIMONE
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"It feels good to get a home win, especially in front of this crowd. It was a very amazing atmosphere; it was fun. We played a good game, staying focused for 40 minutes. We made a good run in the fourth quarter, and we were able to maintain the advantage even when they came back. It was a good job. It was difficult because when they came back, they are a good team, of course, and we struggled a little bit on offense. But we stayed locked in and got a win."
GRANGER, JAYSON
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"We are very happy for this win. We needed it. I think we did a great job, especially in the third quarter. I think we came out pretty strong defensively, and I think it is the way to keep this good streak. Playing in Buesa with our fans is something special. Especially when we keep playing defense like we did in the third quarter, we get fastbreaks like we did today. I think people enjoy it, and also us."